UN / MEMORIAL SERVICE

19-Apr-2018
00:01:25

The United Nations (UN) today held a memorial service to honour UN personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty between July 2016 and the end of last year. UNIFEED

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2. Wide shot, conference room
3. Wide shot, Secretary-General, President of the General Assembly and President of the Security Council lighting a candle
4. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my personal condolences to all the family members of the deceased who are here today with us and to pay tribute to their resilience, their generosity and to express my very deep solidarity.”
5. Med shot, families of the deceased
6. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Without the courage and commitment of our peacekeepers and humanitarians and all our colleagues, we could not accomplish what we do -- every day -- in some of the most difficult and dangerous environments.”
7. Close up, candle
8. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“let us mourn our lost colleagues, and let us join together in solidarity as one United Nations family, committed to serving the greater good of humanity.”
9. Wide shot, moment of silence

STORYLINE

The United Nations (UN) today held a memorial service to honour UN personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty between July 2016 and the end of last year.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres took the opportunity to express his personal condolences to all the family members of the deceased and to “pay tribute to their resilience, their generosity" and to express his "very deep solidarity.”

Despite all the efforts to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel, the UN chief reiterated that the UN has become a target of those who oppose its commitment to peace.

According to the UN, 140 UN personnel were killed. They came from 42 nations. 123 of them were military personnel; three were police; and 14 were civilians.

Saying that there is so little accountability for attacks against the United Nations – uniformed personnel, international civil servants, national staff and UN Volunteers, Guterres reaffirmed his commitment to calling for attackers to be held to account and improving safety.

He said “without the courage and commitment of our peacekeepers and humanitarians and all our colleagues, we could not accomplish what we do -- every day -- in some of the most difficult and dangerous environments.”

The UN chief added “let us mourn our lost colleagues, and let us join together in solidarity as one United Nations family, committed to serving the greater good of humanity.”

During the memorial, top UN officials, delegates, and family members of the fallen ones held a moment of silence to pay tribute to the diseased.